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Cancer

Cerca de dois terços dos casos de câncer estão relacionados a hábitos de vida, como alimentação e tabagismo. A spirulina tem se destacado como um aliado natural na prevenção, graças ao seu poder antioxidante, imunomodulador e potencial anticancerígeno. Estudos laboratoriais mostram que ela pode inibir o desenvolvimento de tumores (Hirahashi et al., 2002; Mishima et al., 1998; Zhang et al., 2001). Rica em β-caroteno e ficocianina — dois potentes fitonutrientes — a spirulina ajuda a neutralizar radicais livres e reforçar as defesas do organismo (Peto et al., 1981).

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O câncer engloba mais de 100 doenças caracterizadas pelo crescimento desordenado de células que invadem tecidos e órgãos. Por isso, bloquear o ciclo celular tornou-se uma estratégia promissora no combate a tumores (Jiang et al., 2017). A ficocianina, pigmento presente na spirulina, tem demonstrado essa capacidade em diversos estudos (Ying et al., 2016; Liao et al., 2016; Ravi et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2012), ao impedir a replicação do DNA e, assim, frear a proliferação de células tumorais. Além disso, ela estimula a apoptose — o processo natural de morte celular programada — atuando como um mecanismo complementar no controle do crescimento cancerígeno (Li et al., 2010; Bharathiraja et al., 2016; Bingula & Dupuis, 2016).

Referência:

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  • Peto, R. et al., Can dietary beta-carotene materially reduce human cancer rates? Nature, 290, 201, 1981.

  • Hirahashi, T. et al., Activation of the human innate immune system by Spirulina: augmentation of interferon production and NK cytotoxicity by oral administration of hot water extract of Spirulina platensis, Int. Immunopharmacol., 2, 423, 2002.

  • Mishima, T. et al., Inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis by calcium spirulan (Ca-SP), a novel sulfated polysaccharide derived from a blue-green alga, Spirulina platensis, Clin. Exp. Metastasis, 16, 541, 1998.

  • Zhang, H.Q. et al., Chemo- and radio-protective effects of polysaccharide of Spirulina platensis on hemopoietic system of mice and dogs, Acta. Pharmacol. Sin., 22, 1121, 2001.

  • Mishima, T. et al., Inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis by calcium spirulan (Ca-SP), a novel sulfated polysaccharide derived from a blue-green alga, Spirulina platensis, Clin. Exp. Metastasis, 16, 541, 1998.

  • Hirahashi, T. et al., Activation of the human innate immune system by Spirulina: augmentation of interferon production and NK cytotoxicity by oral administration of hot water extract of Spirulina platensis, Int. Immunopharmacol., 2, 423, 2002.

  • Schwartz, J. and Shklar, G., Regression of experimental hamster cancer by beta carotene and algae extracts, J. Oral. Maxillofac. Surg., 45, 510, 1987.

  • Hayashi, O., Katoh, T., and Okuwaki, Y., Enhancement of antibody production in mice by dietary Spirulina platensis, J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 40, 431, 1994.

  • Ying J, Wang J, Ji H, Lin C, Pan R, Zhou L, et al. Transcriptome analysis of phycocyanin inhibitory effects on SKOV-3 cell proliferation. Gene. 2016; 585: 58-64.

  • Liao G, Gao B, Gao Y, Yang X, Cheng X, Ou Y. Phycocyanin Inhibits Tumorigenic Potential of Pancreatic Cancer Cells: Role of Apoptosis and Autophagy. Scientific reports. 2016; 6: 34564.

  • Ravi M, Tentu S, Baskar G, Rohan Prasad S, Raghavan S, Jayaprakash P, et al. Molecular mechanism of anti-cancer activity of phycocyanin in triple-negative breast cancer cells. BMC cancer. 2015; 15: 768

  • Wang CY, Wang X, Wang Y, Zhou T, Bai Y, Li YC, et al. Photosensitization of phycocyanin extracted from Microcystis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells: implication of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Journal of photochemistry and photobiology B, Biology. 2012; 117: 70-9.

  • Li B, Chu X, Gao M, Li W. Apoptotic mechanism of MCF-7 breast cells in vivo and in vitro induced by photodynamic therapy with C-phycocyanin. Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica. 42: 80-9; 2010.

  • Bingula R, Dupuis C. Study of the Effects of Betaine and/or C-Phycocyanin on the Growth of Lung Cancer A549 Cells In Vitro and In Vivo. 2016; 2016: 8162952.

  • Bharathiraja S, Seo H, Manivasagan P, Santha Moorthy M, Park S, Oh J. In Vitro Photodynamic Effect of Phycocyanin against Breast Cancer Cells. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2016; 21.

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